Dispersing Storm
by Sainalone
Summary: He wakes up in a place called the Nexus. With a new life, he takes his chance and tries to make the best out of it.
1. The Awakening

Warcraft and Heroes of the Storm belong to Blizzard. I do not own them.

* * *

 _A Hallway_

My consciousness started coming back to me when light passed through my eyelids. I was met with a sudden wave of grogginess as my body sprang into a sitting position instinctively. I sat there, disoriented, while my body adjusted itself after waking up. Although it took me some efforts, I managed to open my eyes to my surroundings.

 _Where am I?_

Metals and lights were how I would describe the place. Illuminating the corridor I was in were lights coming out from some spots along the floor and the walls. Instead of having a ceiling, the corridor was open upward to the night sky. If there was one thing I could say, it would be how technologically-advanced the place looked.

The clank of metals grabbed my attention when I tried to get up. Upon looking down, I saw plate armor on certain parts of my body. I noticed there were spikes and skull figures carved into the plates as images started entering my head. My eyes widened after I realized the images were not just my imaginations but memories of my past. Quickly, I reached for my face while expecting my hand to touch something—except _it_ wasn't there. Still pumping with adrenaline, my hand, after not feeling anything else but my face, grazed something soft on one of my cheeks. It was a strand of white hair.

 _What have I become?_

The sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor as I wandered along the dimly lit hallway. Entering my head from time to time were the horrors during my past reign—the slaughter of the innocents, the wicked ways of my doings, and the ravages of my actions. It wasn't long before I reached the end of the corridor.

In front of me were stairs going upward. Ascending the steps, I saw a hole resembling a portal of some kind in the metal floor. There was a beam of light swirling in it and lightnings which struck from time to time. Seeing no choices, I braced myself for the unexpected before stepping forward.

In a second, everything went white.

* * *

 _The Frozen Throne_

"Sir, what should we do with his body?"

"Right."

"Wait, where did it go?"


	2. Mister Arthas

_The Nexus_

My surroundings came back once the light had dispersed. Standing on a portal much like the one before, I noticed I was now in a different place. There were more portals surrounding me but they seemed to be shut off. Beyond the portals were houses.

It looked like I was in the center of a town or some places. I didn't know if I could call it a town or not, but it seemed like one.

The sky told me it was still nighttime in this unknown place. I could be in _space_ , perhaps, but I could be wrong. The metal floor stopped at the edges of the portals before transitioning into grass. There were brick roads in four directions. Each of them was different in color: red, yellow, green, and blue. All of these confused me even more.

 _What is this place?_

 _["Blue is my favorite color, Arthas."]_

I chose the blue one and walked onto it. There were houses on both sides of the road. One of the houses had farmlands beside, making me assume it was a farmer's. There were other buildings which resembled something else. They could be churches, libraries, or perhaps schools. The road broke into three at some point, seeming to connect with the other colored roads. After walking for a while, I saw a pond on the right side of the road. I decided to stop there and observe the town.

I had completely forgotten about the fact that there were people living here. I realized I had walked past some of them without knowing. Some of them were in their own houses while some were on the road. They didn't pay much attention to me. It was as if I was a normal person, not a merciless killing machine. Few of them paid me some glances before continuing on their own businesses. I didn't notice someone had come up to me from behind.

"Um…excuse me mister. You don't seem to be here before. May I help you?" asked a little girl. She was fidgeting with her fingers when I turned around to face her.

"Who are you little girl?"

"I think you should speak to daddy. I'm sure he can help you."

She suddenly took my hand, wanting me to go with her. I followed her while she continued to drag me to the house beside the pond. It was a two-stories farm house with a lawn in front of it. There was a scarecrow in the middle of lawn which had a boy playing nearby. I felt the girl tug me towards the boy when we arrived. Our footsteps alerted him, making him turn around.

"Timmy! I think mister needs our help!" Something came up from the back of my mind. It made my memories start to shift.

"Sera? Who is this guy?" The teenage boy shifted his gaze towards me. His face and his blonde hair looked familiar as if I had seen them before.

"Mister! Can you tell us your name?"

I jumped from the question—they wanted to know my name. I realized this place was not the same world as Azeroth, so the people here didn't, or _shouldn't_ , know about me. I sighed in relief after all the crimes I had caused came to my mind. They didn't matter now.

"My name is Arthas. It is nice to meet you two." I knelt down to their level and extended a hand towards the boy. If my soul and humanity hadn't returned, I wouldn't have reacted like this. I smiled at both of them while the boy switched his glance between my face and hand. Nervously, he accepted my gesture and shook my hand. His face told me he was deep in thought as I was.

"Arthas…?" The boy muttered to himself. By the time he pulled his hand back, I heard the door of the house open. Turning towards the noise, I expected to see someone with a weapon in their hand, readied to strike me down for messing with their children. But, instead, there was a man standing at the door. He wasn't angry or nervous when he saw me; he was more of confused by the look he gave.

"Daddy!" The girl ran to her father, hugging him in a warm embrace. He knelt down to her level when she started whispering something to him. He observed me for a while before a smile appeared on his face. He nodded to her before going into the house while leaving the door open. I let my eyes wander around the town for a while, trying to memorize the places that had caught my sight. I couldn't wait to explore them after knowing what was going on. I felt someone tug at my leg.

"Let's go Mister Arthas. Daddy wants you to come inside," the girl said as she dragged me towards the house. I saw the boy named Timmy following behind as we walked. He seemed to be protective of his sister, but somehow he trusted me. It was weird.

From my appearance, people would at least avoid me, but this girl didn't show any signs of it. Maybe she was still an innocent child who was curious in everything, not afraid of the dangers that might lurk around the corner. I let myself smile again when we reached the door.

 _Perhaps I'm not that scary._


	3. The Nexus

_The Nexus_

"Alicia, this is Arthas."

"A pleasure to meet you, ma'am," I greeted the woman who sat across from me at the dining table. Her name was Alicia. Like I did with Timmy, I got a feeling I had seen her before. She gave me a smile which I returned with mine.

First, I woke up in the strangest of places. Then, I went into a portal which teleported me to a town. After that, I wandered aimlessly down one of the colored roads in the town. And now, I was inside a house where a little girl had dragged me into.

It was surprising actually how much had transpired in a short amount of time.

The family offered to share a meal with me after I introduced myself to them. I told them I wasn't hungry and decided to sit with them instead. By 'introducing', I hadn't given them any information other than my name. Still, I felt I was welcomed.

The girl named Sera sat beside her brother while Mandel shared his plate with her. Speaking of Mandel, husband of Alicia and Sera and Timmy's father, he was a kindhearted man from what I saw. He welcomed a stranger like me into his house from the bottom of his heart. Other than that, he seemed to know about this place as well.

"Mandel, may I ask you something?"

"Yes?" Mandel turned his attention to me after he fed his daughter a piece of vegetable.

"Can you tell me about this place? From what I have seen, this isn't the world where I came from." I saw him pause for a moment before his brows curved up.

"Ah, you must have been chosen by the Nexus then."

"The Nexus?" I asked as my curiosity grew. Sera and Timmy were playing with each other from across the table while Alicia would pay me glances from time to time.

"Yes, the Nexus. Don't worry, we were clueless like you when we first came here."

He then proceeded to tell me what happened to him and his family and what the Nexus was. From the concepts I could grasp, beings from different places were summoned by the Nexus. The summoned were chosen to fight in a war for a period of time. However, there were also some that were unlucky—or _lucky_ —and managed to fall into one of the portals made by the Nexus, thus sending them here. For the latter, they wouldn't have to fight in the war which was to test the summoned's strength against each other and didn't matter if they won or lost. The one who perished in the war would be resurrected to fight again until the war ended.

 _Why would there be a war like this?_

For the ones who came, they would be given a plot of land as an abode. Each plot of land would be among the four divided zones. The zones or the districts were the areas around the color brick roads. Surrounding the blue road would be the blue zone which I was currently in. Each zone even had main buildings such as the Hall of Light and the Wizard Academy. Mandel and his family had been given a land in the blue district.

After the war ended, the ones who were summoned could go back to their world by using the portal or continue to stay here. I didn't know if I wanted to go back or remain here. It was when the images and the memories struck—it would be better for Azeroth to be without me.

"So Arthas, which world do you come from?" Alicia was staring at me when Mandel asked. I started to feel uncomfortable whenever I took a glance at her.

"It's Azeroth." Mandel and Alicia jumped from my response as if I had let out a big secret. Alicia fidgeted with her fingers as if she wanted to ask me something. The question came out of her mouth the instant I thought of it.

"Are you…are you Prince Arthas Menethil of Lordaeron?"

Something clicked in my mind—something that had been lost for ages.

 _Prince_ _Arthas Menethil._

It was a title I hadn't heard in many years.

It had been a long time, a really long time.

 _Far too long…_

A prince. It was a title I never thought I would be addressed as by someone again. After all, many would still see me as the Lich King for my atrocities and ravages I had brought to Azeroth had imprinted the title on my soul. No atonement or conciliation could erase the title from me. Never again a prince I would be, but forever the Lich King.

 _A Lich King with his soul and humanity returned._

"…Yes, I am."

* * *

 _Icecrown Citadel_

"Sir, the adventurers found a sealed chest from what they assume to be the Lich King's personal chamber. Highlord Mograine managed to unlock it."

"I see…Why are you reporting this to me?"

"Sir, you must see what are inside."


	4. Alive

_The Nexus_

The town was illuminated by street lamps when the sky got dark. People and beings from realms beyond Azeroth were heading back to their homes when stars began to fill the darkening azure. Looking out of the window, I couldn't help but wonder how nights and days work in the Nexus. But from what I had seen, it kind of worked in the same way as on Azeroth, with a sun during the day and a moon during the night.

Mandel had allowed me to stay inside the guest room on the second floor until I could find my own plot of land. Timmy and Sera's room was beside mine while Mandel and his wife's was on the opposite side.

Having discarded the plates save my tunic and breeches, my body felt much lighter with the heavy armor off. Since that helmet came on my head, I hadn't taken my armor off for years. I walked back to the bed and sat down before trying to recall what had happened after the dinner.

 _After Alicia had cleared the plates and sent Timmy and Sera to their room, the three of us continued to talk about how each of us had gotten here._

 _My curiosity on why I felt I had seen Alicia and Timmy somewhere before was satisfied when I remembered what had happened during my paladin years. It was during the mission to defend Strahnbrad—a town raided by the Blackrock orcs during that time_ _—that_ _I first met Alicia and Timmy._ _On my way to Strahnbrad, I encountered a woman who pleaded me to rescue a boy from a group of gnolls. That woman was Alicia and the boy I had rescued was Timmy. When this was brought up, Alicia told me how grateful she was_ _—_ _for Timmy wouldn't have been sitting with us at the dinner earlier if I hadn't listened to her plea_ _—_ _along with how a good prince I had been and still was. I would like to differ on the latter, but didn't say anything as I would tell her and Mandel everything at the end of the conversation._

 _Alicia told me how she and her husband had migrated to Theramore during some point after my first encounter with her and Timmy. She had sent her older sons to study in Stormwind, leaving only Timmy with her and Mandel._

 _Little Timmy he was. I couldn't help but smiled at how I once had saved a life. A life which brought smiles to a family_ _unlike me who had brought dismay and demise to my own bloodline._

 _Alicia continued with how she, Mandel, and Timmy had managed to fall into a Nexus portal on one particular day, along with how they had been living here since then while making visits to Azeroth from time to time. Sera was also conceived and born here in the Nexus. It was at this moment when Alicia asked me a question I hadn't expected to come up so soon._

 _"What happened to you Arthas?"_

 _"I_ … _" I couldn't continue_. _It was too much for me to bear to go over my atrocities again, especially that one decision which later led me to the Frozen Throne while shattering a part of me in the process. I remained silent, my gaze falling onto my lap while I tried to gather the nerve to speak up._

 _"It's okay if you don't want to tell us," said Mendel._ _"It will do no good if it causes you pain when you speak about it." He placed his hand on my shoulder and gave me some pats. Looking up from my lap, I saw both Mandel and Alicia smiling at me, trying to cheer me up._

Lying down, I sighed before closing my eyes. I lay there trying to clear my mind while silence occupied the room. It was so quiet now—I could hear the night ambience, my breaths, and soft beats of my heart.

 _Wait._

I sat up instantly after that thought.

 _No._

I bolted out of the room and went downstairs, all the while trying not to make any noise. Entering the bathroom and switching on the lights, I walked up to the mirror and took off my tunic before throwing it on the floor. Time froze the moment I looked at the once familiar image of a man.

My skin, while currently pale, had started to gain its pigment back. My white hair, noticeable from lock to lock, had started to show its former blonde color. My blue-green eyes had also retained their once lost sparkles.

 _It cannot be._

The moment I struck the cursed blade into my chest and ripped out my heart came back to me when I saw my torso. My chest on which I had thought to have an opening was instead lined with a long scar. Beneath it came beats of something, something precious for me to become a human again after not being one for so long.

It was my heart, back and beating as it once used to.

 _I am alive_.

* * *

 _Icecrown Citadel_

"Yes adventurers, how may I help you?"

"We have something to give to you, Lady Jaina."

"…What is that in your hand?"


	5. Remembrance

_The Nexus_

I squinted as sunlight reflected off my opponent's blade. _A downward strike._ Raising my sword, I blocked the blow as it came down and, in a swift movement after the blades met, slid the opposing sword to the side. Wasting no time, I swung at my opponent's opening. _Too late._ My sword stopped right above Mandel's forehead before he could react.

"Wow! Mister Arthas just beat daddy again!" shouted Sera who, along with her brother, had been watching us spar on the front lawn from the start. Sheathing my sword and turning towards our spectators, I saw Timmy staring at us in amazement while Sera jumped up and down cheerfully. Mandel and I smiled at them as we shook each other's hand.

The first day in the Nexus had started off quite well. After waking up, I noticed I was feeling hungry, my stomach was growling. It dawned on me that I was a human and alive, not anymore an undead. Realizing this, I couldn't help but smile at my second chance. I got up, feeling happy and lively for the first time in years, and went downstairs in leather breeches. After coming out from the bathroom, I went back to the bedroom and put on my tunic. I took a glance at my Death Knight armor, which could have been the Plate of the Damned had I chosen to wear them along with that cursed helmet, before going downstairs to join the family during breakfast.

After the meal, during which I ate this time, Mandel asked me for a friendly spar on the front lawn. He lent me a basic one-handed steel sword as we went outside. Holding the sword's grip caused images of slaughter to cross my mind. They were flashbacks of my Death Knight and Lich King years, a reminder of my decision at Stratholme which had led me down the path to ruins. I pushed the dark thoughts away as I tried to focus, swinging and testing the sword around for a while.

I had learned from yesterday's after-dinner conversation that Mandel had once been a squire of Stormwind in his younger years . As we parried each other's hits, I knew he could wield a sword properly and surely had been honing his sword-skill for years. Overall he was a worthy opponent, sometimes almost catching me off guard when he didn't expose an opening which often led to the end of each round.

"You proved your prince title well, Arthas," said Mandel as he tightened the handshake.

"You as well, Mandel." I gave him a smile as we released each other's hand.

"I learned that Lord Uther and Ambassador Muradin were your mentors. They must have taught you well."

The statement came and went quickly like a fired arrow. Smile faded from my face as the unexpected mention of my past life hit close to home, too close.

Uther, my mentor and father figure during my paladin years, met his end at his former student's hand, while Muradin, my other mentor and a brother to me, was heavily wounded from my actions in the cavern holding a cursed runeblade.

While those moments were now in the past, I couldn't help but feel guilty and responsible for them. Sure, the slaughters during my Death Knight years happened for my soul had been stolen, but it was me being impulsive and vindictive that caused the slaughters to happen in first place.

 _["Remember, Arthas, we are paladins. Vengeance cannot be a part of what we must do. If we allow our passions to turn to bloodlust, then we will become as vile as the orcs."]_

One burst of anger and my life changed. The resentment against Mal'Ganis, a dreadlord who masterminded my fate of obtaining Frostmourne, had led me to the freezing continent of Northrend where my downfall began. I had lost many things from letting my emotions took control. I had lost my mentor, my family, my life.

And __her__.

 _["I'm sorry, Arthas. I can't watch you do this."]_

The moment those words were spoken was also the moment a part of me died. The sight of my former lover—a bright and cheerful girl whose smile had brought me joy and comfort—denying me, breaking the promise made on the night of our first tryst, had left my heart in shreds.

"Yes, they've taught me well," I replied. Mandel seemed to notice my sudden change in mood and realized he shouldn't have brought up the topic.

"I'm alright." I tried to fake a smile at Mandel. He saw through it clearly, however, and sighed.

After the spar with Mandel, which had ended somberly, I decided to go out and explore the blue zone. For this, Mandel gave me the sword I had used during the spar as it might come in handy in cases a sword is required.

And so I went, stepping onto the blue brick road once more.

* * *

 _Dalaran_

The departure of the sun and its rays from the darkening sky signified the arrival of nighttime in Northrend. This night, instead of being quiet and peaceful, the magical city of Dalaran was wide awake with fireworks and festive lights. The city's residents and adventurers, Alliance and Horde alike, roamed the streets while cheers and laughter roamed the air.

The Lich King had fallen, and with that came the celebration.

For the rest of the week, Dalaran would be celebrating during the night to heal its citizens and visitors and to bolster morale. While many were now spending their time in the streets, whether alone or with comrades, there were others who chose to retire early and instead remained in their quarters or an inn. One had gone with the latter and was currently alone in her chamber.

Breaths of cold wind blew through the window, brushing lightly against strands of gold-woven hair. Sitting on the window stool was a human sorceress clad in white and purple. In her hand was a locket engraved with her own image and imbued with a portal enchantment. It was the locket she had once given to the man she had loved since they were young adults. She figured the adventurers must have returned it to her through a maid, for she had found it on a table upon entering her chamber.

"Arthas, I…" Tears started to roll down her cheeks when she began. For years he had lived in torment, having his soul stolen and his humanity shredded by the blade that had destroyed a kingdom, only to be freed from his suffering in death. She recounted moments they had spent together in the past—how their young love had evolved into deep affection, how easily they had reignited the fire between them years later after their breakup, and how she had loved him to this day even after he had become the Lich King.

"May your spirit be at rest, my love…" She closed her eyes, her tears flowing from her face before dropping onto her locket. She could see him smiling down at her from the night sky above. Imagination or not, it was clear her soul needed some rest. She wished she could disappear for some time before she had to come back to her duties.

She put the locket around her neck—for long he had worn it close to his heart, now she would wear memories of him close to hers—and began channeling a portal spell to an unknown location, a place where she could get away from everything. With that, she fell from the window and down the spire, leaving a trail of tears in her fall. She opened a portal beneath her before she hit the ground.

Perhaps it wasn't her portal that she fell through.


	6. Crossed Path

Note: The characters have translators implanted by the Nexus, somehow.

* * *

 _The Nexus_

It seemed to be true that living beings were summoned by the Nexus from across the galaxies. Walking down the road, I saw other races I hadn't seen before. Bug-like? Perhaps. Some were elementals while some were humans, but likely to come from places other than Azeroth.

The blue zone was a peaceful looking town from what I had seen; it seemed to be the education zone. There was a school on one of the roads adjoining the yellow roads in the south. Hell, even a toddler-sized bug was a student there.

There was a library on the corner where the roads intersected. I saw people walked in and out with variety of books. From children to adults, they all had their own books to read. Perhaps I should check it out some time and get something to read, or to study.

Study. Heh. Why would I even think of that? Sometimes in my paladin years, I didn't study much, but sometimes it was completely the opposite as to not let my mentors down. It seemed to be part of my nature; like an immature child. Even when I reached adulthood, it still lingered for a while.

I decided to pay a visit to the wizard academy which was at the further end of the blue district. There were some mages, from what I assumed, walking down the same road as I. To be honest, the building itself was preciously built; I even got a little excited when I stopped in front of the massive structure. Perhaps I could see something interesting if I went inside.

Still, it would be weird for a commoner to go in a luxurious place like this, but I saw some just walked in—it was opened for anyone to visit and to demonstrate the art of magic if they were capable. With that, I made my way passed the entrance, and into the academy I went.

"Watch out!" A nearby voice came after I went through the arch door. I turned towards the noise, only to find a flaming bird coming right at my face. My instinct made me ducked down before my face could become a crisp. _What the—_ After some moments, I saw a boy in a weird robe running to me.

"I'm sorry, mister. Are you alright?" asked the boy in concern; he seemed to be new at this magic thing. I gave him a smile as to tell him I wasn't hurt, which he returned it before I saw someone calling him. Behind him was a woman in a strange robe like him—perhaps she's his mentor. After the boy heard her, he bade me a good bye before running back to his mentor. _What a nice welcome._

An hour had passed and there were still many things I hadn't checked out yet. Each group of magic users picked their place to practice—either in the main hall or on the second floor. Not to mention, there were books everywhere; I saw them on the shelves around the corridor, and some in the air, floating. People from many races were all around too.

As I passed one of the groups, a freezing gust of wind caught my attention; I saw one of the mages created a big block of ice from a thin air while one caused some snows to fall over the them. _She could do it better._ I didn't notice someone standing next to me as I was about to walk away.

*bump*

I crashed into a woman beside me, resulting in her to fall down. I was sure the impact wasn't that hard, but, well, I must be a gentleman somehow.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. Are you hurt?" I knelt down and extended my hand to her. She looked at me for a moment before taking my hand and helped herself up.

"It's okay. I'm just… not feeling well…" said the woman. She gave me a smile before walking away into the crowd.

"…Huh?" I muttered to myself. What was wrong with her? Did she just break up with someone? Still, I couldn't resist the thoughts of an immaturel boy, but what happened to her anyway?

Her blonde hair and purple robe lodged into my mind—she looked familiar. Perhaps I was just daydreaming or didn't get enough sleep; she was just an another visitor to the Nexus. After staring aimlessly for a while, something shiny on the floor caught my eyes.

"Hey!" I shouted while I looked for her; she was already gone, and I got many stares in return.

"Um… sorry…" That didn't go well, I chuckled; I just wanted to let her know she dropped her locket, I assumed, when she fell down. Now she was gone. I looked at the locket for a while before deciding to keep it. And no, I wouldn't mess with it as I was a prince, in the past. I looked at it for a little longer in my hand before putting it in my breeches pocket. I felt I had seen it somewhere before.

* * *

 _A Hallway_

"...Where am I?" I remembered opening the portal before falling through it—now I was at somewhere else far from Azeroth as I couldn't feel the magic link. _Where could I be?_

I walked down the hallway until I saw something up ahead, making me went closer to inspect it. There was a platform with some kind of magics imbued in it—it was likely to be a portal as I could tell from my experience with magic. This could take me back to Theramore, or Dalaran, or somewhere on Azeroth, or nowhere. I hesitated for a moment before I stepped onto the platform, where light engulfed me after.

When my surroundings came back, I was surprised I was still in an unknown place—it looked like I was in the center of a city or some place. I realized I was in space as I looked up at the sky, but I could tell it was daytime.

As soon as I moved, I felt magic aura radiating from somewhere nearby. Knowing it could be a portal, I started heading in that direction.

I saw colored roads around me as I walked—red, yellow, green, and blue. I went onto the blue one as the aura radiated from there. After walking for a while, I started to take a look my surroundings.

It looked like a town with houses on the both sides of the road. There were people on the road and in the houses, but I knew they weren't from Azeroth. As panic started to rise inside, I clutched onto my locket as I walked, hoping to find the magic source soon.

The blue road made me thought of _his_ eyes. His blue-green eyes, full of pride and honor to bring rights and peace to his people—they were gone forever now. I broke from my thoughts as I reached the place.

It was some kind of a magic school, or something close to it as I could feel enormous amounts of magic power inside. Without thinking, I went passed the entrance, gaping a little as I strolled through the arch door.

I didn't know there were many people who were interested in magic; I could feel different kinds of them as they weren't from Azeroth. Still, magic is magic.

I wandered around the place for a while; my thoughts of going back started to fade. Perhaps I could ask someone about this place and about how I could find my way back. As I walked, a gust of cold wind hit me, taking my attention. I went over to the source of it instantly.

This group looked like the ice mages; they formed an ice block from empty air while snows rained over them. I could study about those tricks for fun and to strengthen myself as well—only if I could study. _All I ever wanted, was to study_ …

*bump*

Suffering from my recent heartbreak, my knees crumbled to the ground despite the slight impact. I expected some conflicts to happen, so I could stress out by freezing this place all over. It didn't come; instead, there was a voice calling me.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. Are you hurt?" I saw a man kneeling before me, extending his hand for support. My anger would have burst out if it hadn't been something like this, so I decided to memorize this man for not making my anger erupted.

He had blonde hair while some were white. His face was full of concern, but it didn't hide his handsomeness. Wait, had I seen this man before? Deciding to think about that later, I took his hand and helped myself up.

"It's okay. I'm just… not feeling well…" I replied softly. I didn't know there was a nice person here in this place, so I gave him a smile, telling him I was okay before walking away. Still, that face looked familiar.

I continued to explore the building until something caught my attention. In a corner on the second floor, I saw an object being lifted without anyone touching. I went closer to it, seeing a man and a woman standing nearby the box. _Telekinesis._

The woman was lifting the box by looking at it while the man was looking close by. When she put the box back down, the pair noticed me.


	7. Questioned

_The Nexus_

Whew—it's the beginning of the second day since I came to the Nexus. I was met with a warm family when I got home on the day before. It wasn't my home, but Mandel let me stayed with him along with his wife and children; it was kind of him. I also learnt more things in the past dinner.

 _"Hey, boy. What are you going to do tomorrow?" asked Mandel. He'd already finished his meal while Alicia took care of her children. I saw him sitting alone; his chin resting on his hands. He let Sera sat next to Timmy this time._

 _"Well_ … _I think I will explore the other zones this time. Perhaps they aren't the same as blue."_

 _"Sure they aren't. Each color represents anything to do with their color. Red is fire and something vicious while green has forests and toxins." I paused for a moment as I thought about them. So, the red zone could have fire, demons, blood, or even roses while green could have forest with slimes, or something else. It seemed to be out of place, but, hey, this is the Nexus where entities from countless places were summoned._

 _"Don't worry. Mostly everything is the same, but the residents." Oh. It meant, I would see a demon walking in the red zone and a talking tree in the green zone—not volcanoes or bloody pits in the red zone. I sighed in relief as I thought it could be worse. Mandel chuckled at my expressions as a grin formed on Alicia's face. This time, I saw Timmy paying attention to me too; perhaps he wanted to ask me something._

 _"Uh_ … _excuse me. May I ask you something, sir?" Our gazes went towards the boy;_ _I could see him trying to hide his grin before shaking it away._

 _"Yes?" I replied. Wait. When I was about his age, my personality started to change, and I was less innocence. Well, it's the nature of boys to be like this._

 _"Even something 'inappropriate'?" His parents looked at him with a confused face; I saw Sera wasn't paying attention, so it should be alright._

 _"Y-Yes. What is it, Timmy?"_

 _"How is your relationship with Miss Proudmoore?"_

Yes… This also came up in the conversation. My eyes almost popped out from their sockets when he said it. Well, I didn't want to go in details of what happened next, but things started to heat up.

Jaina… I couldn't forget that name. From when we were still a child and up to now, she told me she would never leave me and never deny me—only that one time; the first time and the last. Still, our love was eternal; even when my soul was lost. The moment I saw her in the Reflection Halls, my heart dropped for a moment even when my heart was gone. Her face brought my humanity back briefly, but the blade resisted it back. Even when she had left me, she came back, but it was too late. I wondered if the adventurers found my sealed box yet.

After I finished sparring with Mandel, I decided to take the road to the yellow zone. Speaking of the spar, Mandel had improved overnight tremendously—he knew when he would let himself opened and fixed it. He almost got me this time, but I managed to dodge the blow. Both Sera and Timmy were watching us as we fought.

When I reached the point where the two zones met, I could feel the differences in the atmosphere between the zones. I saw people walking back and forth across the border while I was checking myself. My tunic—checked. My sword—checked. And also, that woman's locket—checked. Now, it's time to check out this zone.

* * *

 _The Nexus_

Okay, Jaina, you're not dreaming. After I woke up, I found out I was still in this strange place—not in my quarter in Dalaran. What she had told me seemed to be true, and that guy was right.

On the day before, I fell into a portal and found myself in some place. Shortly after, I found myself wandering around before finding a couple which helped me. Yes, that woman who used telekinesis on a box and the guy beside her.

Turned out, she used a form of magic called 'psionic', which used something called alpha waves; she could even read my thoughts if she wanted. She knew I required her assistance when she noticed me and decided to help.

She led me around the magic academy first while explaining about this place as we walked. This place was called the Nexus where livings from around the universe got sucked into. The purpose of this was to participate in a war which would come soon in the future. After the war, the visitors could either stay here, or go back to their homeland—no way I'd stay here.

She introduced me to this 'blue' zone or district she called. Basically, this place was divided into four zones which were different in color. Visitors got to stay in one zone after getting a plot of land to live on, and at the moment I didn't have one. She decided to let me stay with them first.

Their house was on the opposite side of the lake in the middle of the town. Luckily, they had a room left for me, so I got a place to sleep. *sigh* Well, that was a brief summary on how I got here.

Now, it's the second day, and I hadn't had any plans at the moment; the best was to stick with them for a while, and perhaps I could explore the town later.

"Hey Jaina, have you set yourself up yet?"

"Y-Yeah. Thank you again for helping me."

"Nah… We were like you when we first came here, right? Jim?"

"Ha ha… At least you were with me, Kerr."

Oh no! I completely forgot to introduce them. The woman was Sarah Kerrigan while the man was James Raynor; I could call them Kerr and Jim, but it seemed to be a little disrespectful.

"So, Jaina. You have any plans for today?" asked Kerrigan. I stopped my breakfast for a moment and looked up from my plate.

"Uh…" Kerrigan stopped eating as well as she gave me an uncomfortable stare. I saw Raynor grinned while he continued on his meal.

"You haven't showed me your magic tricks, yet. I wanted to see them at the academy," said Kerrigan. Right. I hadn't used my magic and freeze someone here yet.

"Hey, let's take her to the shooting range. She'll have fun for sure," Raynor suggested.

"Only fun for you, cowboy. I can go to the academy with her alone, you know," Kerrigan mentioned, getting a playful grin from Raynor.

"I think, I will go with you, Kerrigan."

"See?" Kerrigan nudged on, whom I supposed to be, her boyfriend's shoulder .

"You two look good as a couple, I mean…" The couple in front of me paid me a glance before looking into each other eyes. I saw them smiled at each other. Perhaps, this could be an interesting day.


	8. Mending Light

_The Nexus_

The feeling of vintage hit me as soon as I stepped into the yellow district—Mandel was right. About the differences in each zone, the blue one felt like a normal town while yellow felt like a royal district. The trees along the road had orange and yellow leaves instead of green; the aroma was rich in harvest-like. I could get used to walking around here after just a few moments.

I continued to observe the area as I went past the inhabitants of this zone. Mostly were humans, but I swore, I saw an angel or something close to. This place seemed to be about light and gods, which I was right when I saw a building nearby.

There was a church in the center of the town. When I reached an intersection, I saw many people went in and out from the building. Many faces were sad while some were calm. This was the place to pray and perhaps make a wish, while it was a sanctuary for peacefulness. Perhaps I could come here if the light hadn't abandoned me, yet. Standing there for some moments, I saw a person at the entrance which made me thought about the earlier statement even more—I was sure it's a paladin I saw.

In the north of the town was a hall for paladins and light wielders. My body moved on its own after I saw that paladin—it brought me to the paladins' hall, stopping right at the entrance. _Am I still a paladin?_

I made my way into the building, despite how weird for a commoner like me to enter a sacred place like this. I also noticed some visitors which weren't paladins on the way; it's an open place for anyone to come in. Perhaps it wasn't weird at all to see a peasant inside.

My mouth opened when I saw what's inside. The hall was blessed with holy lights along the walls. In front of me, I supposed, was a gigantic statue of an angel—his face was hidden by a hood while a pair of swords was in his hands; wings spread out from his back in a great manner. This place had already sent a shiver down my spine—even when I only saw just the main hall.

I noticed the quarters were on the left while the training ground was on the right. My body dragged me again to the training ground, clueless on what would happen next.

I stopped at the opening to the outside lawn. Out there, I saw many target dummies on the field which had already been occupied by some paladins. Mostly were humans, but they from different worlds other than Azeroth. There were some paladin trainers who were watching them train, too.

I stepped down onto the field before stopping there for a moment. I noticed the trainers paid me some glances when I came out, but I didn't take that as a bad sign. Still, I'm used to having many stares on me for a while now, so I decided to walk up to a dummy. My hand grabbed the handle of my sword as I would unsheathe it from my belt.

Okay. I was once a paladin, and then a Death Knight, and later the Lich King. My power of light was turned into unholy power when I became a Death Knight. I didn't know if I still had my paladin powers or not, but not the Death Knight's ones as the cursed blade and helmet were gone. It shouldn't be possible for me to still have the paladin's power as I had broken the code.

The code of the paladins. If one willingly committed sins which dishonored the paladin title, the light would abandon them. It's impossible for me to regain it then; atoning would be hard and take a long time. I sighed when everything concluded and lowered myself to the ground until something caught nearby caught my eyes—a flower, dead.

It looked like it was stepped on by someone during training. I reached for it and plunged it up. _How poor of you, little flower. If only I had my light, you would bloom again._ I smiled faintly at it as I held it in my hand. I tried to call to the light—even if it wouldn't come back to me. I closed my eyes for a moment, before I felt my hand glowed. When I opened them again, the flower was back to its blooming stage again.

"Hold your hand, lad," came a man's voice. I turned towards the voice, which belonged to an old paladin, and saw him walking towards me. I noticed the other paladins and trainers were minding their own business; this man must have been watching me.

"You seem to possess the power of the light, young man," mentioned the paladin. I stood up, seeing his face clearly—this man looked familiar.

"Uh… yes, I suppose," Well, I didn't really know how to act when a stranger came up to me. _Where had I seen that face? Wait,_

"This place is the sanctum for paladins like us. The light seems to have chosen you, boy." _No way._

"Perhaps it is possible, but who exactly are you, sir?" _Impossible._

"I am Uther Lightbringer, one of the paladins here. What's your name, lad?"

"My name is…"

* * *

 _The Nexus_

"Let's go, Jaina," Kerrigan said, tugging me by my arm. She looked at me for a moment before following my gaze.

"Oh… you're in love with him, I guess?" She grinned after she saw what I had been looking at.

"No, not really. I found him yesterday at the academy. Actually, he bumped into me first," I explained. To be honest, his handsomeness could charm me and I wouldn't refuse, but I wouldn't leave _him_ again—even if _he_ was already dead.

"Don't tell me you don't have a boyfriend," asked Kerrigan. I gasped when he merely dodged a strike from his opponent.

"I had one." _And he betrayed everyone, but still…_

"Then why are you staring at him like that? Finding a new one?"

"It's just, he reminds me of _him_ ," I sighed after saying it; it would only bring back painful memories the more I thought of it. Kerrigan realized she shouldn't ask more—her face showed some sympathy for me, though. I tried to smile, but something prevented that. On the night before, I didn't see my locket around my neck.

It must have fallen off when that guy bumped into me at the academy. Perhaps he saw it when I left, and asking him would be helpful for finding my locket which was the reason I stopped here and watched him sparred with his partner. I would ask him after they finished.

"Hey, they're finished. Let's go already," Before I could tell her and run to him, I felt my body float into the air—I couldn't control my body, but only to look around. I saw Kerrigan grinned at me and started walking. Well, I didn't really mind her to use her psionic energy on me, but she should have tell me first. I sighed when I saw myself being dragged towards the academy, not having a chance to ask him.

For the rest of the day, we went around the building and looked at some _cool_ magic; there were ice and snow for sure, and that wasn't an intended pun. Other than elemental magics such as fire and wind, there were other kinds of strange ones as well. I saw a shaman-like caster or something, who could raise a circle of zombies from the ground on the lawn outside and call a spirit to aid him. There was also a little panda girl who could heal people and summon a serpent. Kerrigan also went to a mouthless creature who could create a force wall—they seemed to know each other.

When Kerrigan split from me, I found myself in a group of ice mages. It was only noon and I needed to find something to do, so I joined them.

Each person came from different places while I came from Azeroth. Each places also had different ways to conjure the power of ice, but everyone seemed to know about magic. One guy summoned a frost hydra, he called, by using his staff. With that, I decided to summon a water elemental to my side as well. We had a good time for hours which we discussed, joked, and learnt something from each other. However, I felt I didn't try my best because I didn't have a staff with me. Still, my magic power was still strong without it, I thought.

And so, the day was over and night came. I regrouped with Kerrigan before heading back to her house. When we arrived, Raynor was back before us and decided to cook for while he was waiting. To be honest, I couldn't say that men couldn't cook.

"You like it, darlin'?" asked Raynor. I couldn't help, but glanced at the couple beside me.

"How can I not like it, Jim," said Kerrigan. She paused her meal for a moment before releasing her pony tail and let her reddish hair flowed free.

"Oh, Jaina. There's a good new for you," Raynor said to me.

"Uh… Yes?" I wondered what that good new was. I stopped eating and paid attention as he was about to say it.

"My ranger bro told me there's a spot left in the green zone."

Wait, what? Did I hear it right?

"Pardon?" I asked him again. Did I really hear that right?

"You finally got your own plot of land in the green zone; the Nexus just expanded today."

"That means…"

"Yes. Tomorrow you will sleep in your new house, but," he paused.

"Huh?"

"You'll be sharing the house with another man."


	9. Jaina Proudmoore

_The Nexus_

I got up from my bed after waking up—today would be an interesting day. I couldn't stop thinking about it while I was cleaning myself. Making sure I was ready for the day, I went downstairs and joined the couple in their breakfast.

"You're ready, Jaina?" asked Raynor. Kerrigan shifted her gaze from her plate to me.

"Yes," I smiled. Well, I didn't have anything, but my body and my robe. I didn't have to prepare anything, really.

"Do you know who I'll have to live with?"

"I heard he's a paladin. He also just came here like you," Raynor said while cutting his pork. A paladin, huh?

"Interested, right?" Kerrigan cut in—a grin forming on her face.

"Pardon?"

"Just come on, you can't hide it from me," Raynor stopped eating his meal as he became interested in our conversation.

"She wants a man, Kerr?" Nice timing, Raynor. I sat there in silence; my face turning red. The couple laughed at me, making me blushed deeper. Get yourself together, Jaina! Suddenly, my emotions went blank when my thoughts came across _him_.

After our breakfast, Raynor took me to the green zone while Kerrigan went to the academy. He explained briefly about what I would see in each zones.

"Green is in the east, so we have to go back to the portals," said Raynor. We went down the road I had taken on the first day after exiting from the portal. We reached the portals where the four roads started, and continued on the green one. As I stepped on it, I could feel the atmosphere changed.

As its color, this zone was like the forest; there were more trees along the road than in the blue zone. Many houses were one with nature, reminding me of the greens of the Tirisfal Glades they once had; only if _he_ didn't destroy them. I breathed in fresh air as I walked, shortly before a scent hit me. I forgot something.

Acids and slimes were also green, usually though. Horror came on my face when I saw a slimy creature walked past us. Raynor laughed after seeing my expressions; this was why we couldn't have good things on Azeroth.

"Don't worry, the zone divides after this," Raynor said while I was looking at my surroundings. _The zone divided_ , I wondered what he meant by that. My answer came shortly after.

I could see a real forest on the right while spooky things stayed on the left. We went to the forest part on the right as the road broke into two, and stopped where the trees multiplied in numbers, forming foliage above our heads.

"The houses are far from each other in the woods. Yours will be at the end of it." With that, we went past the forest entrance, towards my new home.

Still, there were houses along the road, but less in numbers as for the spaces for the trees to grow. I saw a spring nearby with someone meditating in front; it was a monk, I thought. To be honest, this place was the sanctum of tranquility.

We went past some more houses and a shooting range, I assumed, before I saw the forest ended—it was nothing, but a force field preventing from falling into the space. Shifting my gaze again, I saw a plot of soil nearby; it was big enough for a house. There was a man standing on it while facing away from us. Raynor went up to him while I followed behind.

"She's here," Raynor spoke up. We stopped behind his back as he turned around. My heart froze when I saw his face.

"Oh, hello there. So, I'm going to share the house with her?" asked the man. He took a glance at me before looking back at Raynor.

"Indeed."

"Okay, but we didn't have a proper introduction, yet," He turned towards me as our eyes locked. Yes, after all these three days, we hadn't introduced ourselves in a manner—it was the man who had bumped into me at the academy when I first came here. How unfortunate I had to stay with him.

"I'm Matthias Lehner. Pleased to meet you, ma'am."

"My name is Jaina Proudmoore. It's a pleasure to meet you."


	10. Heartache

_The Nexus_

If it wasn't for my legs, I would already fall down to my knees; realization came upon me as I looked closer at her face. It was that day, the day I kept telling myself that it wasn't her who I had bumped into. Now I couldn't lie to myself further; this was real. I traced along her face, the face that cheered me up all the time. This was real—this was the Jaina I had known.

The day before, Uther brought me into the paladins rank. I thought it was a dream at that point, but I didn't ask him how; how was he still alive, and how did he get here. At that moment, I made up my mind and decided to conceal my identity in the Nexus. I went with the name Matthias Lehner—the name of the boy in my dream, and my humanity.

Luckily, Uther didn't ask me about my background, or things could go wrong. I went home immediately after I was registered as a paladin. It should be over, I thought, until Mandel told me I would get a house the next day. At this moment, I was standing on the plot of my new home, with the one I loved.

"I should be going now. If you need anything, call me up at the shooting range. Also, you take care of her," said the man beside her, mentioning me about the latter. He paid us a farewell before walking down the road. Now, it's me, and her.

"Hey, it's you who knocked me over at the academy," her voice took my attention; my eyes went back to her face again.

"…Oh, you are that girl then. I apologize for what happened," I scratched my head and chuckled, trying to be playful with her. Her brows curved down from my actions.

"It's okay, but I couldn't find my locket after that. It must have fallen off at that time," she sighed, closing her eyes for a moment.

 _My locket._ Her locket, one of the things I kept in my secret stash. The stash must have been discovered as she got it back. Other than her locket, there were more things I also keep in my stash. No matter how powerful I was, my own memories would always take over at some point, and that's the reason the stash was made.

Speaking of her locket, it was an object she had given to me when I was still a paladin. There would be times when we were separated because of wars and other reasons. The locket would represent herself, meaning, no matter where I went, she would still be close to me—close to my heart.

"You mean… this thing?" I reached into one of my breeches' pocket and brought the locket out while acting like I hadn't seen it before. It pierced my heart, somehow.

"Yes, may I have it back?" she asked. Oh Jaina, why wouldn't I give it back to you? The pain from being stung by memories made me paused for a moment before I came back to my senses. I extended my hand towards her as to return it.

"…No, wait…" She retracted her hand, refusing to take the locket. I saw her head dropped down as like she was pondering about something.

"Please, keep it for me. I can't take it back…" she said, her voice was low and shaking. What just happened? She seemed to be alright a moment ago, and then suddenly changed into this; something must have been triggered. The locket, given to her beloved and now he was assumed dead. I felt my heart was ripped out from my chest after realizing what she meant.

I forced myself to bring her locket back into my pocket instead of returning it to her and reveal myself—it took my will not to do it, and it would be better this way. It was my turn to cry inside while she recovered her composure before looking back up to me. My eyes locked with hers—lovely clear crystal blue orbs.

"Anyway, let's continue with our new home," her voice was back to its normal state; I felt relief after hearing that.

"Aye, we can talk later."

"Still, where is that house they spoke of?" Right. There was nothing, but a plot of soil we're standing on.

"Perhaps we have to build it ourselves?" This could be fun, or not. She paused for a moment before continuing.

"Perhaps…" she said. Well, now I got to work with her after so many years. I felt excited as I thought of it.

With that, I scanned the area around us which was full of trees with vines hanging down. A hut would be the best choice, I assumed. I noticed she was looking at me for a moment while I was checking the stuffs in my bag beside my foot. I didn't know what she thought of me, but I must think of the house plan. And also, I must keep my bag away from her—there were things that would break her heart if she saw them. Enough fantasying for now, it's time to build a house… for us.


	11. Familiar

_The Nexus_

 _Those blue-green eyes_ … My mind wandered around for a moment. That pair of eyes, they looked so familiar as I had seen it before. I continued to stare at him while he planned on building the house. I didn't know why, but I felt my gaze was attracted to him.

The only person I had known to have this eye color was only _him_. His eyes were full of hope, passion, kindness, care, and much else. I remembered them from the first time we met—showing his nature as a boy. After all these years, he was still lodged in my mind and I missed him.

Somehow, this man had those eyes of his. It was a coincidence for him to have one, but no matter who had them, they weren't _him_. There was only one of him, and now he had already left the living world.

Other than this man's eyes, there was another thing which made me wondered; his hair. It was long strands of blonde blending in with some whites. The blonde ones made out a familiar shade of blonde when I saw them. Thinking carefully, I finally remembered that shade—it was the shade of _his_ blonde hair. Again, this man shared _his_ shade of blonde. He could be mistaken as _him_ if it wasn't for those few white strands.

"Hey, are you alright?" his voice grabbed my attention. I didn't remember when he had walked up close to me. Perhaps I didn't pay attention after all that time staring at him.

"Yes," I smiled at him, letting know I was okay. He paused for a moment, taking a close look my face; his body was only a stride away from mine. I felt he wasn't quite sure whether to take any actions or not.

"It's just, you remind me of someone I've known in my life," I said, closing my eyes for a moment before opening them. His eyes were widened to their fullest as if they would pop out. He stared straight into nothing for a while before turning away and returned to his work.

"Oh," he murmured while I was facing his back. What did I say wrong to make him act like that? I was quite sure I didn't say anything to upset him. Anyway, I shouldn't care about it too much, or perhaps I should.

"…I need an axe," he said quietly. I started to feel uncomfortable with him acting like that. Well, he did ask for an axe, so an _axe_ should cheer him up. I didn't know what accelerated my thoughts, but an idea had already come up in my mind. My hands started to conjure ice magic by themselves, forming ice in my hands.

When the ice was big enough, I stared to carve the ice into the wanted object by using the technique I had learnt from the ice mage group at the academy. I didn't expect it to come in handy just now. To be honest, I wouldn't have known how to do it with ease if I hadn't come here—many kinds of spells and magics didn't exist on Azeroth.

After some time of concentration, my magic stopped flowing from my body, and the newly crafted axe fell into my grip. It didn't look too shabby or special, but it could get things done with the hardened ice and sharpened edge; this would cut a tree just fine.

"Here you are, the axe you need," I walked up to him inspecting a tree nearby before he turned towards my voice, locking our eyes. This time, I tried to find any traces of emotions in him, but it was futile—his face was devoid of emotions as like he hadn't recovered from the past moment by now. While our gazes were locked, I felt the axe slipped from my grasp slowly until I couldn't feel it anymore. At that moment, I didn't know how close the distance to him was, or realize that it was me that had gotten that close. It wasn't long before I saw his lips curled up, giving me a smile before putting the axe behind his broad shoulder. I smiled back at him before dismissing myself from him. After some moments, he was back at work, cutting the trees around the perimeter.

"I'm certain that our house won't finish in one night. I will go and look for the tents," I suggested. Our first few nights would definitely be in the tents while the construction went on. He gave me a nod as he focused on his work. With that, I walked away onto the road. Raynor could lend me a hand with this.

Still, there was something which kept bugging me; it was his bag. I saw it sitting beside his feet when I came here. There were sounds of metals clanking inside when he carried it around. I wondered what they could be inside. Anyway, I shouldn't invade his privacy too much.


	12. Memories

_The Nexus_

My knees crumbled to the ground after she left my sight. To hide, to lie, to conceal myself to my love, the pain was unbearable. The Lich King wouldn't have batted an eye if he had been in a situation like this, but I wasn't that soulless monster anymore. I closed my eyes, letting my mind be at ease while the memories of her hit me all over.

I reached for the pocket where the locket was, before pulling it out. My finger pushed the lid of the jewel up, revealing something inside. Holding the locket close to my eyes, I took a look at a portrait of a blonde-haired girl, covered by a thin layer of glass. I smiled every time I saw it.

It was her during the period when we reached adulthood. Her face had a faint smile on it while her blue eyes shone like crystals. She was seemed to be smiling back every time I I looked at the picture. I glanced at it once more before closing the jewel, sealing the portrait inside.

Despite her studies in Dalaran, we yearned for each other company when we had our time to spend. As the chances were likely dim, she decided to give me her pendant which reminded me of her while it rested next to my heart. There were countless memories imbued in this locket; from the night we were truly lovers, to the day everything fell apart. _Please, don't deny me this time, Jaina._ I put the locket around my neck once again. _Or is it me that halted our relationship? On that day of the Winter Veil_ …

With the locket close to my heart again, I stood up and pushed those depressing thoughts away. It was the time that I had to stop mourning over the past, but focus on building the future instead. I picked up the icy axe on the ground and continued to chop down the trees for logs.

I had a doubt that I could wield this frozen axe for long, but it didn't feel cold for me. After years of being in Northrend, my nerves had grown resisted to the cold, or died, and it seemed to persist even with my new body.

I felt a new strength awoke inside me, reinforcing every of my swings. I didn't know how, but I knew the person who brought it out. This must be the power of _love._ I felt like a teenage boy who had recently fallen in love, and it fueled my spirit. _Can I have a second chance with you, Jaina?_

I managed to get some more logs by the time she came back, carrying a tent pack with her. I paused for a moment when she came into my sight; I was sure that I saw only one tent.

She approached our plot of land and placed the tent on the ground, releasing a breath shortly after. Her cheeks had a red glow on them as she had to carry that thing. I stared at her, rearranging my mind before deciding to ask. I stopped before any words came out as I saw a look on her face—she was grinning. As my jaw began to drop, a figure in a distance came into my sight. _Water elemental._

Yes, she used the elemental to carry the other one. I didn't remember how many things she had up her sleeves, but there were seemed to be endless of them. Still, it's now midday, and I heard my belly growled. _Perhaps it was time to have a break,_

"It's lunch time now. We're ought go and find something to fill our stomachs," I said after putting the logs into place along with the icy axe. Again, she said nothing, but smiled as she began to cast a spell. I stood there beside the logs while watching her concentrated on something. Within seconds, another trick rolled down her sleeves.

"…Yes," I murmured. A table with some foods on top appeared out of thin air. Yes, I just remembered that she's a mage.

"Don't worry, you can eat them. They're made of mana which might feel a little off," she said as she walked to the table before propping down onto the ground, beckoning for me to come. I followed her and sat on the opposite side. To be honest, I didn't expect a lunch like this.

After finishing our lunch, we continued to gather the materials for our house. I continued to collect the timbers while she collected the vines for binding. In my opinion, the food was tolerable, but there were only breads, cakes, and water. I wouldn't be surprised if I gained some weights after having meals like that for a week. At least, they refilled my energy.

With the water elemental and another axe, our progress went faster. In this pace, the trees were turned into stumps quicker. Still, I wasn't sure if we had enough timbers to begin building the framework by sunset or not.

While we were working, there were only sounds of woodchopping, footsteps, and nature ambience, but no conversations were made. It might seem awkward, but it was the best for me about keeping my identity. Truly, I didn't need to ask anything about her as she was my lover, and lovers must know each other. I expected her to ask me instead, but it didn't come. With that, I remained silent for the rest of the day.

When the sun had set, we set up the tents outside the perimeter; inside the plot was for the timbers and logs instead. We took our rests beside our tents when we finished, but there were other things we still needed to do. It started when she got up again.

I turned my head at her as she knelt in the center between our tents. She extended her hand to the ground while murmuring something. My brow rose from what she was doing, shortly before I knew. Fire engulfed her hand as she let it burnt the grass, letting the fire spread in a small radius before putting it out with her ice magic.

"Can you get some firewood for me?"

"With pleasure," I replied. With her request, I went to the logs stack and grabbed a few of them before coming back to her.

After setting the campfire, we ate the same dinner as our lunch—conjured breads and cakes.

"Next morning, I might be having something else," I said as I took another bite at my cake.

"Well, sometimes I am _fed_ up with them, too," she giggled, grabbing a bagel after finishing the previous one. I saw her staring at it as she was drowned in her own thoughts; it must be about her recent heartbreak.

"We should get these sweats off our bodies before getting to bed. Any ideas?" asked I. It was silent for a moment.

"…Pardon?" I was sure I burst her thoughts.

"Perhaps, we should take a bath somewhere," I replied. With that, she went into her thinking mode as if anything would come up.

"We can skip—"

"I have an idea," she cut me off as she put the bagel down before standing up and put some distance between us. My eyes narrowed as I tried to figure out what would she come up with this time. She closed her eyes for a moment while standing still. In seconds, her body was encased in a block of ice. Panic hit me at that moment, but I controlled myself to stay calm. I waited as the barrier remained there for half a minute, shrinking each second before melting away completely. There, her eyes were opened once again; her body was soaked by water from the melted ice. Surprisingly, she didn't show any signs of shaking or shivering at all.

"Wanna try?" she asked as she radiated her fire magic to dry herself.

"Of course," I replied. I thought back to the time when I was still the Lich King. Encased in ice for years, walked the frozen land of Northrend, using ice magic and much more, compared to those, a few seconds of being frozen in ice wouldn't hurt. Also, that moment she had frozen me in the Halls of Reflection felt like nothing. _However, I wasn't a human being during those years._

* * *

The stars were high in the sky by the time we finished our business. Thanks to her Ice Block, the sweats and dirt were cleaned from my body. The night was awaiting us in our sleep, and we shouldn't delay it further.

"Goodnight, Miss Jaina," I called in for a night as we were about to enter each other tent.

"Goodnight, Matthias," she returned. We looked into each other eyes for a moment before we went into our own tents. Still, my day decided to continue in my tent.

I stared at the ceiling as I recalled the events today. I couldn't keep my mind off her. My mind roamed around for a while as the night continued. There were many things I would like to do, to tell the truth to her, but I couldn't do them. I sighed, closing my eyes from exhaustion. _I need to sleep for now._


	13. Beneath the Stars

_The Nexus_

It had been only two days since I came here. Lots of things had transpired during the time which required me to adapt to some of them. However, not all of the changes were bad. There were new experiences I could find, along with many things I could learn to do. The people here were friendly as well, as I had already befriended some of them. Things began to set into place surely, and then this man appeared.

His name was Matthias Lehner, a paladin whom I had to share a house with. From what I had seen earlier in the day, I knew that this man wasn't ordinary; his personality was also weird as he was quite shocked when I told him his name. No, he didn't show any signs of said discomfort, but I just know it—I can feel it. I had no idea why I felt it, or why there would be some bonds between us. If we were lovers, then it would make sense as we would know each other inside, but we weren't. For some reasons, his appearance resembled a man whom I called _lover,_ especially his face and that pair of lovely eyes. Still, it was just a coincidence, that's all.

Changing the subject, he also had a bag he always carried around with metals rustling inside. He would put it away from my sight and made sure I wouldn't approach it. That's one more reason on why I need to crack this man's secrets. To be honest, I started to grow interested in this man because of those attributes.

Instead of rambling about these things, I should get some sleep while I can. It had been a while now since we departed into each other tents and I was still wide awake. My mind kept wondering about what had transpired during the day; how I would miss Kerrigan and Raynor, how the Alliance would react with me disappearing for a while, how the war in the Nexus would be, and who this man really was inside his shell

I continued to stare at the ceiling, hoping my consciousness would slip so I could fall asleep. Time passed, and I still didn't show any signs of sleepiness. Knowing that sleep wouldn't come at any time, I decided to go outside instead.

Silently, I got up and peeked through the tent flaps as to make sure he was sleeping—no one but the cracking sounds from the campfire. With that, I made my way out of my tent without any noises. Somehow, the campfire caught my attention.

It looked like the logs had been refilled and rearranged as to prevent the flame from spreading onto the grass. Before we separated for each our rest, I noticed that the hole for the campfire wasn't dug neatly; now it was. He could have come outside and set it up properly before going back to sleep. Still, I didn't pay much attention to that and made my way to the edge of the Nexus. _Perhaps I can sleep under the sky, and let its endless blanket cover me._

I walked to the part where the forest hadn't ended yet while looking carefully not to step on anything which could make a noise. After the tiny forest, there would be an opening next to the edge of the Nexus. I could see one in front of me where I could lie down there. With that, I went through the bushes as quiet as I could, going around the tree and—

My hand went to my mouth before I could even let a gasp out; the blindsight from the tree must have made me missed him in the first place. There, he was lying on the grass with his arms propping him up behind his back while staring out into the space. If I had seen him sooner, then I would have gone back to the tent or found a new spot to rest. _Why is he out here?_ I could think about that later, but I had to get away from here now. I backpedaled slowly towards the camp, stepping over the grass, and a twig, and—

*crack*

*thump*

The sound of my fall echoed throughout the night before being followed by an eerie silence. I shut my eyes tight. _No, please tell me that that didn't just happen. There's no way_ —

"Jaina?"

I opened my eyes once again, seeing him turned his head towards me as I looked out from the bushes. _What do I do now?_ I could get up and ran back to my tent, or join him under the night sky. Seeing how this went, I chose the latter and got up to my feet, noticing a pain at my left elbow, but ignored it anyway. I smiled sheepishly when I came out into his sight, locking eyes while I approached him before sitting down beside. I tried to ignore his gaze by staring aimlessly ahead, but I could feel his eyes were still locked onto me.

"Can't sleep?" he asked as he went back to stare into the sky. Now, it was me that couldn't help, but to dart my eyes towards him.

"Yes," I replied. Silence occupied the area once more as I sat there awkwardly with him. I didn't know why, but I could feel that my heart was beating at a quicker pace. I started to think that we could sit here all night without anything happening, until I felt him grabbed my arm.

I turned towards him in alarm, almost yanking my hand away, but his firm grip wouldn't let it happen. "What are you doing?"

"You're hurt," he said while inspecting my arm with his hand holding it; his eyes were focused onto it.

"No, I'm not—" My body jolted as I felt his other hand sliding the sleeve of my robe up to my elbow. I should be scared as I was being touched by a person I wasn't close with, but a part inside myself somewhere thought of the opposite. Anyway, I controlled myself to be calm as I squeezed my eyes shut.

"There's a scrape under your elbow," he said. His soft and caring touch made me thought better of him, and so I opened my eyes, immediately locking with those sea-green orbs of his. It felt like the time was frozen for a moment as we gazed into each other eyes. This time, he was the one who broke the eye contact and focused on my injury instead. For some reasons, I continued to look at his face, studying its outline along with his eyes. Some strands of his blonde hair also came into my attention as well. _Why does he look so_ … _familiar?_

I continued to stare at him while a light formed on one of his hand. The light emitted a soft, soothing sensation as he used his magic on the scrape. After a few seconds, the pain was nowhere to be found on my elbow, but a warm and caring touch from his hand. I didn't have to take a look at my elbow as I knew it was healed by him. When he finished, he looked up at my face once more, being quite surprised as he noticed that I had been looking at him all of the time. We knew that we were still touching each other, but none of us had the urge of pulling away. In order to continue, he lay down completely onto the grass, pulling me with him and let my head rested on his shoulder.

There, two of us were lying beside each other under the endless night sky. I didn't mind being close to him as I was pondering about something else while staring upwards at the sky. I didn't know why, but I started to put the pieces together.

His appearance, his personality, and his reaction towards me were all linked together by my mind. I had been ignoring this fact since when we saw each other for the second time. There was a strong doubt about my assumption about him—until what he did earlier. I have begun to wonder if this man was actually _him_.

"You should try to sleep, Jaina," I heard him said to me. Knowing that I was overthinking too much, I tried my effort to sleep once more. This time, I actually felt sleepy.

On what I had mentioned earlier, the Lich King was known to have fallen in the Icecrown Citadel. What if the Nexus was also a place for the dead? Would that be possible? Without knowing, my consciousness slowly slipped as the tiredness caught up on me. As I was about to fall asleep, he whispered one more thing to me.

"Don't deny me, Jaina. Don't ever deny me."

 _That's it_ …

 _Arthas_ …


	14. Lifting Burden

_The Nexus_

 _That's it_ …

I couldn't take this torment any longer—it was unbearable to withstand this agony. The sight of her hit me hard alone; now it was her touch as well. Her touch was soft, caring, and soothing which was complemented by her eyes—two lovely blue orbs which I could stare at all day. I was aware that we were touching each other hands while locking our gazes, but a part of me told me not to break our bond apart. _Damn the light, I can't resist her._ I didn't care what would happen if she learned my true identity or what the consequences of it would be; it didn't matter now—I just wanted to end this burden and love her freely again. As like my body moved on itself, I pulled her down onto the ground with me, letting her head rested on the nook of my shoulder while wrapping my arm around her and pulled her closer.

There was no resistance from her.

Now, we lay by each other side as the night went on. Cool breezes landed on us which made her nestled closer to me as to seek warmth. We both stared up aimlessly at the countless sky, going through many thoughts as time passed. After few moments, I took a glance at her, noticing she was deep in thought for some reasons—and I seemed to know what they were. She was having doubts about myself.

I realized that whenever I lowered my shell, she was always quick enough to grab that piece of information from me—even after showing a tiny sign of being shocked. Together with what had transpired between us earlier, she was trying to put the pieces together in no time. It was too late to turn back now. Still, I could continue to conceal myself and deny everything she threw at me, but it would double the pain I had to endure and her heart would be weak again.

"You should try to sleep, Jaina," I said. She was overthinking about it which would only hurt herself. Perhaps I could tell her in the morning and work out the problem later—now it was time for her to rest. Hearing my words, she closed her eyes and began to soften her mind, sighing as she did. I felt her snuggled closer to me.

With her body close to me like this, I couldn't help, but admire her face. She was tired, yet she was peaceful when she was asleep. Her silk-like hair lay strewn on my chest, looking like strands of gold. Her face was gorgeous as like she hadn't aged at all; the starlight enchanted it even more. Everything about her was perfect—even her lips were curved perfectly.

Still, I knew that she wasn't asleep yet—her mind was still raging inside. Her consciousness was slipping within each second and she would be asleep soon, but her mind would still be in conflict. _How can I_ _ease your mind, Jaina? What can I do? Perhaps_ …

My memories took me back to that one day, the day when a giant wicker man was set alight in the midst of night in Lordaeron. It was that night, the night where a pair of lovers truly found themselves and walked the dreams together. It was when we were, but an entanglement of love, that she made a promise—a promise that haunted me to this day. It wasn't my brain that acted, but rather my heart which made me utter out those words—the words that had been lodged inside my heart for long.

"Don't deny me, Jaina. Don't ever deny me."

Instantly, I felt exhausted all the sudden as if all those days of not sleeping had caught up. My mind slowed down by itself while my eyelids grew heavier with each passed second. Despite such sudden tiredness, I tried to hold her close to me before my consciousness would slip.

A long time it was, since we slept in each other embrace. Memories continued to float in my mind as I grew sleepy with each second. Still, all of them formed a smile on my face which would last through the night.

As the time had come, I finally fell asleep, but, the moments before my consciousness slipped, I swore, I heard the best thing I wished to hear since I decided to reveal myself.

 _Arthas_ …


	15. Rekindling

_The Nexus_

Morning came, and I was wakened when the morning breeze brushed against my skin. I stirred in annoyance, but stopped when I felt something touched my body—it was warm. Slowly, I opened my eyes, trying to find the source of warmth my body was given. A smile came on my face after my vision became clear—it was _him_.

 _Arthas…_ It became clear on the night before; when he said those words. Nobody would say something like that to me, but _him_. Paired with his personality and appearance, this man couldn't be no one else. _He's alive, along with his heart, and soul._

I noticed that I was still in his embrace—his hand wrapping around my back as to hold me close to him. Without trying to wake him up, I shifted my body upwards as to have a look at his face. It was _his_ face, after all.

It still showed the feature of a man whom I loved. His hair had their pigments returned, showing their once-blonde color once again. His face was the same face I remembered before the incident at Stratholme—everything about him had changed since then. Tracing along his well-aged face, my eyes stopped in their tracks; focusing on his lips instead. They were the lips I once brushed them against mine in the past.

I didn't know how much I miss him; how much I miss sharing kisses with him. It had been years since our last kiss, and how much I had yearned for them. If there had been even a tiny piece of him after he became the Lich King, he sure, must have longed for them as well. Without hesitating, I slowly lowered my mouth to his, planting a soft kiss on his lips. It didn't matter if his lips were hard or rough—at least, our lips were joined once more. After a few seconds, I broke the kiss as I sat up and looked at his face. The once-closed eyes of his were now opened—his sea-blue orbs of his locking with mine the moment they were shown.

Tears began to form in my eyes as the moments I once had with him came back in all of a sudden. Despite the tears, I didn't feel angry or sad—or had any negative feelings at all. Instead, they were tears of happiness. I smiled as the liquid rolled down my cheeks before dropping onto his tunic—like raindrops falling from the rooftop. His word that came out amplified my feeling tenfold.

"Jaina…"

* * *

"Jaina…"

 _She kissed me_ …

At that moment, everything around us seemed to have stopped in their movement; my surroundings were shielded out, leaving only me and her. Countless of thoughts came up in my mind, as well as my memories which had been uprooted from the back of my head. Unspeakable feelings crept all over my body, rendering me wordless while my mind continued to rage on inside.

 _"I'm sorry, Arthas. I can't watch you do this."_

There were many things that I would like to say to her, but I couldn't force my mouth to move—not even a twitch.

 _I'm sorry…_

For many years, I had committed atrocious crimes throughout my homeland since my hand had its grasp on that cursed runeblade. It couldn't be denied, but I couldn't be forgiven for what I had done—not even death itself.

I wanted to apologize for the sins I had committed; for letting my anger took over, and for breaking her heart. After all what had transpired because of me, she still loved me to this day. Her heart must have been broken countless times, and I was one of the reason for it. Still, there's also one thing I needed to tell her—I never stopped loving her.

 _"Give my regards to hell, you son of a bitch."  
_ _No. Not this wa_ _y—not paralyzed and helpless… Jaina…_

That moment when I was about to face my end at the hand of the former Ranger General, I still called out to her; even when my soul had been consumed by the blade, my feelings for her still lingered—I still loved her when I became a Death Knight.

 _"You sicken and disgust her, Arthas. Anything she felt for you since turned to hatred."_

But what about her? Had her feelings towards me changed after I became corrupted? That statement made me wondered, but it was all a lie when I saw her in the Halls of Reflection—to save me was one of the reasons she went there. For long she had suffered because of my foolishness, and she deserved to be loved and cared by others. I wondered if I could mend her heart or not, but she had had enough. Without uttering any words, I sat up straight until my face was only a few inches away from hers; my fingers slowly moved to caress her cheeks, wiping her tears away.

"Arthas, I… I'm so sorry for leaving you. I…"

"Shhh…" I let my hand traced along her face, stopping at her lips as I brushed them softly with my fingers. Her lips were soft and lovely, unlike mine which were hard and rough. Her eyes were locked with mine; they were full of guilt.

 _No, it is I that must apologize, not you, Jaina._

For many years we were apart—from lovers to enemies. Now we were reunited again, and I wanted this reunion to be joyful, not full of sadness or such.

"I'm here now…" I whispered to her, trying to comfort her with my words. Still, her face still showed some signs of worries—and I didn't want her to feel anything like that right now.

 _Let me kiss them away. Let me bring peace and happiness to you._ With that, I closed the distance between us, placing my lips onto hers.

 _Don't deny me, Jaina. Don't ever deny me._

 _Please._


	16. A New Beginning

_The Nexus_

It was at this moment when something joined the roaring firewood within the campfire, and they were meant to be incinerated as well. The plates, which had been coated with blood during his reign of slaughtering, were meeting their demise at the flames of her magic. It was at this moment when they were reunited after long lost years and finally found peace among themselves; it was the time they would leave their past behind and set for a brighter future together.

* * *

This wasn't a dream—this was real. Once in a while, I would bite my tongue as to make sure I wasn't dreaming, and I wasn't. The boy who had stolen my heart long ago came back to me after I lost him once. It was hard to think of losing him forever, but I wouldn't lose him again. With my last thought, I squeezed my hand tighter around his as we watched his Death Knight's plates burning in the pyre.

This was one of the moments I wanted to last forever; it was the moment I could put my thoughts away from the duties and things I had to do and let my mind be at ease with him close by. It was like Azeroth could end at this moment and I wouldn't care. Yes, it was indeed magical for this to happen and I really appreciated it. Still, a moment like this couldn't last forever, and it was interrupted by footsteps nearing our plot of land.

We retracted each other hand before turning around towards the noise; it was Raynor. However, there was also another man walking alongside with him, towering over Raynor as they walked. He seemed to be his friend from what I saw. Still, this man was bigger than his friend and was more muscular in tone, and his atmosphere was different—he had a very big ego, but also a golden heart deep down inside. We both greeted them as they were nearing our camp, receiving the gesture back as they stopped in front of us.

"Ah, Miss Jaina and Matthias, it seemed that you have made some progress overnight. Also, this is Tychus, a buddy of mine," Raynor motioned to the man with some tattoos and scars in a white vest and brown trousers behind him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am, and you too," Tychus said as he stepped forward beside Raynor. They really looked like best buds it seemed.

"Also Arthas, a paladin trainer from the hall requested you to meet him in the training ground at this moment," Raynor said to Arthas who was standing beside me. I felt him tensed up the moment a paladin trainer was mentioned, but I decided to ask him later after this conversation.

"And what about the house?" I asked. Yes, I would go along with him, meaning that no one would be able to work on the house. As if they had been anticipating the question, I saw Tychus' lips curved up into a grin.

"That's why I brought my bud along," Raynor said, seeming to answer my question in somewhat way.

"We will be working on it while you guys aren't here, and don't worry about the tools or us," Tychus said with a grin, telling us it wouldn't be any problem for them.

"Thank you Raynor and Tychus," I thanked them, feeling grateful as they would need to put their free time aside. "If that is what you said, then we should get going now." I paid a glance at Arthas beside me, seeing that he was still deep in thoughts. As I didn't want to delay the trip to the paladin's hall, I took his hand and dragged him along, paying the rangers bros an adieu before we got onto the road. He was still consumed in his thoughts after walking for a while. As soon as we were alone, I decided to ask him about that paladin trainer.

"Arthas," I called, trying to get him back to his senses, but to no avail—his gaze was still focused onto the ground. Sensing I had to do something, I quickly reached for his other hand, grabbing it and made him turned to face me as we halted in our tracks. He seemed to be surprise of my action.

"Arthas, speak to me," I asked him softly; my voice sounded more of a plea. My eyes were locked with his as I looked up at him; he was weak—his eyes showed it all.

"Arthas, please at least tell me what this is about," I continued to speak, knowing it wouldn't work on him in his current state. Only silence came, but I wouldn't give up on him easily.

"Arthas, who is that paladin?" I asked him again. This time, I could feel conflicts within him as he tried to choose whether to tell me or not, but still, no words came out. Seeing that this wouldn't go anywhere, I decided to do what he least expected at this moment. I sighed once and closed my eyes—before I rose up to his face and covered it with my hands, while standing on the tips of my feet, and pressed my lips against his. The kiss lingered for a moment before I pulled back from him.

He came back to his senses immediately while his eyes widened; he stared at me in shock as if I did the unspeakable. I smiled at him when our gazes met again—this time, I was sure he would let it out. As if my action triggered something within him, he sighed once before he finally spoke.

"You met him in the Halls of Reflection," he said, not answering willingly. _Halls of Reflection, where he tried to kill me once_ … With that new information, I quickly thought about whom I met there—there were only a few people there. With that person being a paladin, that paladin he meant must have been Uther. Still, how did he find him here? Oh right, this was the Nexus, where even the dead ones could be summoned to this place. As he had already met Uther in the Nexus before he revealed himself to me, then he must have been hiding his identity from his mentor as well. In short, he would tell Uther the truth—and something would certainly happen.

"Arthas, listen to me," I spoke, my voice grabbing his attention. "I don't care about what you have done or have committed when you were still the Lich King. What have already happened cannot be changed, and so you must let it go. Moreover, it's because of that cursed runeblade that led you down the damned path. Paired with how impulsive you are—you know? He even wanted to apologize for not being able to save you from your anger, and that burdened him," I said; tears started to swell in my eyes which were locked with his during the whole time. His face may be devoid of emotions, but I knew that inside him was nothing but chaos.

"So, please, it is time that you talk to him and let go of everything that hurt you," I continued, before extending my arms around him, hugging him tight.

"And remember, I will be there by your side; I will be there with you…" I said into his chest as I began to sob; my tears started to flow down onto his shirt. At that moment, I felt him hugged me back while he stroked my hair as to calm my spirit. I heard him whispered something into my ears—and that made me love him even more.

"I won't let you down, Jaina. I promise I won't."

 _ _I know you won't, m_ y Prince of Lordaeron_ _…_


	17. Making Peace

_The Nexus_

The building stood out from others from what I saw. The Hall of Light, from what Arthas had told me earlier, was indeed a spectacular building. As we were about to ascend the stairs to the hall, Arthas, who was walking in front of me, stopped suddenly at the first platform. Instinctively, I walked to his side and entwined my fingers with his. His face turned towards me as I did so, his eyes showing emotions and inner struggles which were raging inside him. Knowing it was only him who could make his own steps, I simply squeezed his hand to support him; no words were needed for that. We stood there, hand in hand, until he was ready. He gave me a smile and a nod before we began to climb the steps at last.

As we entered the main hall, I could feel magical powers, mainly light, throughout the room. For some reasons, most of the powers seemed to be radiating from the massive statue of an angel in the middle of the hall. Before I could go closer to inspect the statue, Arthas dragged me to the exit on the right instead.

 _I'm here,_ I told him silently, not expecting him to hear me.

 _Jaina,_ his voice entering my head. Startled by this, I quickly turned to him as we stopped walking abruptly. It seemed that he was also surprised by this.

 _Did we just,_ I asked him before pausing mid-sentence.

 _I don't know,_ he replied somewhat telepathically. His eyes were fixated on mine as we tried to find an explanation, if there was any, for this.

While mages, especially the powerful ones, were capable of telepathy in some ways, I didn't expect him to be able to do so.

 _Perhaps it's the Nexus,_ he told me. _Its power can literally make anything become possible._

 _It could be,_ I replied.

From what I saw, the training ground was somewhat scarce in terms of the number of people using it. While there were several practice dummies across the grounds, only few were occupied at the moment. There was one being used as a healing target, I supposed, in a corner of the ground. Arthas, whose gaze seemed to be focusing on the same thing as I was, tensed up suddenly. Before I could say anything to him, my heart skipped a beat after I took a closer look at the said dummy and its current user.

 _Uther…_ I said solemnly to Arthas. When he didn't say anything in return, I turned to look at him.

His blue-green eyes, despite them being crystal clear, were full of guilt and conflict, like a sea, whose currents were once calm, being churned by a storm. His features, while some might see them of a hardened man, were just a façade to prevent others from seeing his true self. Yet, I could see through him clearly and read him like an opened book. At this moment, he was like a child who had done something wrong and wanted nothing more but to apologize, except that what he had done in his case were atrocious and an apology would simply not be enough.

 _Jaina, I…_

"There you are lad," a voice came in our direction, making us jump unexpectedly. I could feel my stomach drop as we turned towards the source of the voice.

 _Oh no._ Uther began walking in our direction, his footsteps stopping after he reached us.

"And who might you be milady?" asked Uther as his gaze fell onto me. "I am Uther Lightbringer, a paladin from Azeroth. It's a pleasure to meet you, milady."

 _Please play along, Lady Jaina._

"I am Jaina Proudmoore, a friend of Matthias," I replied. "I hope I'm not intruding anything."

"Oh, not at all milady," Uther said. "Your presence here is more than welcome." He turned to Arthas next. "Ah, I've almost forgotten about you. I must apologize."

"Why have you summoned me Uther?" Arthas asked, seeming to grow a little impatient.

 _Straight to the point aren't we? That's more of the Arthas I remembered._

I was grateful that Arthas wasn't paying attention at me for a moment. He would have been suspicious of my smile which I couldn't hold back from what Uther had said.

"Well, I need you to do me a favor."

"A favor?" I asked.

"Yes. You can help him if you would like to, Miss Jaina. Anyway, Matthias, I need you to go to the marketplace and bring me my parcel from a blacksmith."

"A blacksmith? The marketplace?" asked Arthas.

"You can get to the marketplace by going through one of the portals at the center point, the place from which the roads originated. For the blacksmith, his name is Smiphus, and he resides in the woods nearby the market. The roads and the signs will guide you there."

"When will you be expecting us?" I asked.

"If all goes well, it will take you an hour at most," Uther replied. His eyes, while they might have been switching glances between Arthas and me, were now more focused on Arthas.

"Perhaps we should get going now," said Arthas. With the mention of that, I could see him tense up visibly. The conversation was coming to an end and he still hadn't made peace with his former mentor.

 _No!_

"Then good luck to both of you," said Uther. "Now I am required elsewhere." He bade us an adieu before walking past us in the direction of the hall.

 _You have already come so far!_

"I… I apologize for everything."

Uther stopped in his track.

"I… I let my anger consume me at that moment in Stratholme." Arthas had turned towards his former mentor and had gotten down onto one of his knees. "I should have listened to you, Uther, but instead I snapped at you. I know I cannot atone for all of my mistakes, my past, my crimes, but I want to make amends for them. And I promise I will not go down that path again."

Silence swept over us in a sudden. Time seemed to just abruptly freeze and everything around us stopped moving. Only three of us were not.

"Looks like one of my brightest pupils is back after all." With that, Uther continued walking before disappearing into the hall.

And everything was moving again.

"Jaina? Are you there? I—" I tackled him into a hug before he could finish saying. I reached up and kissed him before pulling away quickly.

"I'm so proud of you, do you know that?" I asked.

"I know." He smiled before reaching down to give me another kiss, not caring about others around us.


End file.
